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Discourse on Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone

I
heard these words of the Buddha one time when the Lord was staying at the
monastery in the Jeta Grove, in the town of Savatthi. He called all the monks
to him and instructed them, “Bhikkhus!”

And
the bhikkhus replied, “We are here.”

The
Blessed One taught, “I will teach you what is meant by ‘knowing the better way
to live alone.’ I will begin with an outline of the teaching, and then I will
give a detailed explanation. Bhikkhus, please listen carefully.”

“Blessed
One, we are listening.” The Buddha taught:

“Do
not pursue the past. Do not lose yourself in the future. The past no longer is.
The future has not yet come.

Looking
deeply at life as it is in the very here and now, the practitioner dwells in
stability and freedom. We must be diligent today. To wait till tomorrow is too
late. Death comes unexpectedly. How can we bargain with it? The sage calls a
person who dwells in mindfulness night and day, ‘the one who knows the better
way to live alone.’

“Bhikkhus,
what do we mean by ‘pursuing the past’? When someone considers the way her body
was in the past, the way her feelings were in the past, the way her perceptions
were in the past, the way her mental formations were in the past, the way her
consciousness was in the past; when she considers these things and her mind is
burdened by and attached to these things which belong to the past, then that
person is pursuing the past.

“Bhikkhus,
what is meant by ‘not pursuing the past’? When someone considers the way her
body was in the past, the way her feelings were in the past, the way her
perceptions were in the past, the way her mental formations were in the past,
the way her consciousness was in the past; when she considers these things, but
her mind is neither enslaved by nor attached to these things which belong to
the past, then that person is not pursuing the past.

“Bhikkhus,
what is meant by ‘losing yourself in the future’? When someone considers the
way his body will be in the future, the way his feelings will be in the future,
the way his perceptions will be in the future, the way his mental formations
will be in the future, the way his consciousness will be in the future; when he
considers these things and his mind is burdened by and daydreaming about these
things which belong to the future, then that person is losing himself in the
future.

“Bhikkhus,
what is meant by ‘not losing yourself in the future’? When someone considers
the way his body will be in the future, the way his feelings will be in the
future, the way his perceptions will be in the future, the way his mental
formations will be in the future, the way his consciousness will be in the
future; when he considers these things, but his mind is not burdened by or
daydreaming about these things which belong to the future, then he is not
losing himself in the future.

“Bhikkhus,
what is meant by ‘being swept away by the present’? When someone does not study
or learn anything about the Awakened One, or the teachings of love and understanding,
or the community that lives in harmony and awareness; when that person knows
nothing about the noble teachers and their teachings, and does not practice
these teachings, and thinks, ‘This body is myself; I am this body. These
feelings are myself; I am these feelings. This perception is myself; I am this
perception. This mental formation is myself; I am this mental formation. This
consciousness is myself; I am this consciousness,’ then that person is being
swept away by the present.

“Bhikkhus,
what is meant by ‘not being swept away by the present’? When someone studies
and learns about the Awakened One, the teachings of love and understanding, and
the community that lives in harmony and awareness; when that person knows about
noble teachers and their teachings, practices these teachings, and does not
think; ‘This body is myself; I am this body. These feelings are myself; I am
these feelings. This perception is myself; I am this perception. This mental
formation is myself; I am this mental formation. This consciousness is myself;
I am this consciousness,’ then that person is not being swept away by the
present.

Bhikkhus,
I have presented the outline and the detailed explanation of knowing the better
way to live alone.”

Thus
the Buddha taught, and the bhikkhus were delighted to put his teachings into
practice.

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